Spinciti BOB

TU-Delft - 2020
Advanced Concept Design
Client: Spinciti

Challenge
Development of a last-mile mobility concept conducted for the Advanced Concept Design Module of the MSc Integrated Product Design at TU Delft, Netherlands. The design assignment covered is carried out for Spinciti. A young and ambitious company focused on e-mobility. The design brief was to create a new e-mobility solution in the domain of (parcel delivery. Focusing on key issues such as capacity, size and safety.

Approach
After thorough research the Spinciti BOB was designed, a vehicle that can bridge the gap between the cargo bike and the car/Van. This vehicle needed to offer the best balance between load capacity and size and thus a new type of vehicle was introduced that can accelerate our cities by enabling people to run their business in busy city centres.

The Spinciti BOB has two different modes of operation so that it can adapt to the changing urban context. This gives the BOB user the freedom to go wherever he wants in the city without restrictions.

In driving mode, the vehicle can ride on the road and with its width of only 750 mm it is also small enough to ride on cycle paths.

In the second mode (cart mode), the vehicle becomes as small as the box it is carrying. This offers advantages in finding a parking space. And it allows the vehicle to be towed behind the user on the pavement or even indoors.

One of the most important characteristics of the concept is its dimensions. During the design process, a lot of time has been spent searching for the best balance between load capacity and vehicle size. Now when the vehicle is shortened it is only 1400 mm long, which is even shorter than an average bicycle.

The vehicle is designed as an open platform that can easily adapt to different use cases, depending on the box unit it is configured with. To obtain, a clear picture of the concept vision. The target group of a handyman was used as a reference for the development of the final concept and design of the box unit. Under the motto of a driveable toolbox.

Project video

design process

Trying to find out the best balance between cargo capacity and size, the stability of the vehicle became the most important factor for the viability of the concept. Measuring and predicting tipping was therefore essential.

A technological test was performed that studied the feasibility of the concept by performing stability calculations as well as simulating the real situation with a scale model test to investigate both static and dynamic behaviour.

Different seating configurations were explored. First in 3d with a p50 3d-mannequin to find the safest and most space-saving configuration. Afterwards, the final configuration was evaluated with a full-scale mockup.